Baby Girl
by jedlee07
Summary: Someone causes Bones to be in an accident, and her daughter is kidnapped. Booth and Brennan fight to find her, before it's too late. FINAL CHAPTER! HOPE YOU ENJOYED!
1. Chapter 1

**This was inspired by another Bones fic I wrote for the May CBPC. I own nothing but Abby, so please don't sue!**

**Enjoy!**

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Temperance Brennan glanced in her rearview mirror and frowned slightly. The black SUV behind her had been following her closely for the past ten or fifteen minutes, a difficult task to accomplish on the highway. She pressed her foot down on the gas pedal a little more.

"Dr. Bones?" She glanced back to the little boy sitting in his booster seat in the back.

"Yes Parker?"

"When are we going to see Daddy?" Temperance smiled. Parker had just asked her that question two minutes ago.

"Soon, Parker. We'll get there soon." He started to say something more (probably ask another question, seeing as "soon" isn't a good enough answer for children), but closed his mouth and leaned over the car seat next to him. Temperance heard tiny shrieks and laughs come from the back seat.

She and Booth had just finished a case the day before. The McCallum clan, a group of Irish nomads, had killed a member of a rival family and buried the body along the Mall. Some renovations were being made and the bones were dug up after three years in the ground. They had arrested the head of the clan yesterday.

As she always did when they finished a hard case, Temperance took Parker and Abby to visit Booth at work and have lunch as a family. They were supposed to meet at Wong Foo's at one.

Brennan looked in her mirror again, her frown bigger than last time. The car behind her was still tailgating her. She turned onto another highway and reached for her phone when the car followed her.

Before she could press the button for Booth's speed dial, they were jerked forward as the other car hit their rear bumper. Cell phone thrown to the floor and forgotten, Brennan's only focus was keeping control of the vehicle and trying to get away from the other car. Parker knew something was wrong and had his arms over the baby. Tears were filling his eyes and he cried out, "Mom?" Temperance didn't look back but called out in what she hoped was a calm voice, "It'll be okay Parker. Just hold on tight."

The black car nudged Brennan's a few more times. There was no where she could go. Parker was openly crying now, his sobs joining Abby's. Brennan stepped harder on the gas. The other car moved into the lane next to her. Temperance moved to step on the brake, but before she could do anything, the SUV drove into hers, pushing her off the road.

Their car rolled down the embankment, flipping over several times. It finally came to a rest, right side up, at the bottom of the hill. Airbags hissed, the car creaked and the engine rattled. Temperance put a hand to her forehead and winced at the blood that came back on her fingertips. Her head hurt terribly, as did her chest. _Concussion, bruised or broken ribs. Hopefully nothing more._ Her eyes were threatening to close but one thought opened them.

_The babies._ She had to make sure Parker and Abby were okay. She tried to turn around but pain exploded all throughout her body. She couldn't stay awake anymore; her eyes were just too heavy and there was too much pain. Through the haze that had settled over her, she could recognize the sound of a door opening. Was it help? She didn't hear any sirens. Maybe it was a Good Samaritan. The last thing Temperance was aware of before the blackness consumed her was the sound of Abby's distressed cries.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two. Hope you like it!**

** -Jed**

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Booth paced in front of Wong Foo's. He'd been traversing the same strip of sidewalk for the past half-hour. He checked his phone again. No new voicemail, no missed calls. Bones was late. Thirty minutes late. She was never late, and if for some reason she was, she called. Always. He stopped and ran his hand through his hair and blew out a frustrated breath. He pushed away the thoughts of something bad happening. Maybe she had gotten stuck in traffic and had no service, or her phone battery died. Right Booth, think positive. 

The past few years were sure a positive thought. They had been the best of his life. Temperance had married him and they'd had a baby, a daughter. To add to it, Rebecca had given him full custody of Parker when she moved to London with Drew.

The whole thing still astounded Booth, even after two years. Something had changed in Temperance. She still believed marriage was an antiquated ritual, but she said "yes" when he asked her to marry him. He had asked her half-jokingly, wanting so badly to ask her, but knowing she would immediately start giving him the "speech". She swore to him on their wedding night, that she would uphold all the things she promised him during their wedding vows.

She stole his heart again when she asked Rebecca if she could adopt Parker. She had gone to his ex before she moved and asked if, since Booth had been given full custody, could she adopt Parker? Rebecca admired the change in Seeley's partner- sorry, wife- and, even though it hurt, couldn't miss the love he exuded whenever she was mentioned. She gave Temperance her blessing. Rebecca had come to Seeley and told him she wanted them to be Parker's family; she told him Temperance should adopt her son. She said something about the love for Tempe in his eyes, kissed his cheek, and left. He didn't find out that Brennan had asked for the adoption until Rebecca had mentioned it during a phone call when the act was finally completed.

What shocked him more was when Temperance told him she was pregnant. He felt immense joy surge through him, closely followed by one thought that sent fear rushing through his veins. He knew she'd compromised a lot by marrying him. She even let them get married in the church, for him. She wouldn't want to have his baby; she'd been pretty steadfast on her beliefs against having children, even after the wedding. He understood that. He had resigned himself to the fact that they would have to be happy with Parker. And they were. Temperance adopting Parker was more than he could have asked for or dreamed of.

But what was really mind-blowing was the joy he saw in her eyes. He must have looked confused at it, for she kissed him and told him she absolutely wanted this baby. He just couldn't believe it. She laughed and placed his hands on her flat stomach. "We're going to have a baby, Booth. _Our _baby."

Booth thought he could have died from happiness the day he sat by Brennan's bedside, Parker sitting on the bed next to Bones, Abigail cocooned in a soft, pink blanket, cradled in his arms. He had a daughter. A daughter created by him and Temperance. His deepest, most desired dreams had come true, ones he thought never would.

Booth was broken from his reverie when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and his heart fell when he read "unknown number" instead of "Bones". He hit send.

"Booth." The words he heard sent his world crashing down around him.

"Mr. Booth, my name is Amanda Clark and I'm calling from the George Washington University Hospital. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but there's been an accident." The woman's voice was cut off as Booth shut his cell phone. As soon as he heard her say the word "hospital" he'd taken off at a sprint for his car. He turned on the siren as he raced across town to the hospital.

His heart beating rapidly and his fingers aching (his grip was very tight on the wheel), Booth sped along D.C.'s roads. Dozens of scenarios and situations flew through his head. It didn't help any, having seen all he did during his time in the army and with the F.B.I. He knew more possibilities than most people, and that knowledge was destroying him as he slowed the car to a stop in the hospital parking lot. He sprinted through the doors at the emergency room exit, stopping only to locate the nurses' station.

"My name is Seeley Booth. Someone called about my family." A mid-aged nurse looked up and said, "Mr. Booth. I'm Amanda, the nurse that called you." Booth was looking around. "Where's my family?" Amanda walked quickly around the counter and began leading him through a set of doors.

"Parker is right around the corner. He's fine, just some scrapes and bruises. He's more shaken up and scared than anything." Booth nodded. "What about my wife and daughter?" They pushed through the doors.

"Temperance came in with a concussion, three broken ribs and a severely bruised shoulder. She's getting x-rays right now to check for internal bleeding." They rounded a corner and Booth could see Parker, sitting on a nurse's lap and having a book read to him. He looked up when he heard footsteps and shouted out, "Daddy!" Booth took off and ran across the room, scooping Parker up in his arms, holding him tightly as tears leaked from his eyes.

Parker locked his arms around his father's neck, sobs shaking his tiny body. Booth found a vacant chair and sat down, not releasing his hold on his son. He rocked the boy back and forth, rubbing his hand across his back. He looked up at the ceiling, sending up a prayer of thanks. Parker sat back a little, rubbing his eyes. Booth rubbed his thumbs across his cheeks, wiping the tears from them.

"Daddy." His voice was broken by the sobs left from heavy crying. "Yeah, Bub?" Booth's voice was soft and gentle. He could see hesitation in Parker's eyes. "They took Abby. She's not here." Booth furrowed his eyebrows. He assumed Parker meant they had taken her to the pediatrics wing. But the sadness and fear Parker was showing made him think something else was wrong. He turned to the nurse.

"What about Abigail? Where is she?" Amanda shook her head. "When I called you I only knew about Parker. I was made aware of Temperance's condition only a few minutes before you walked into the hospital. I haven't heard anything else." Parker was shaking his head, looking like he was going to cry again.

"No, Daddy. She's not here. They took her." Booth was about to ask where she was and who took her when another nurse came in and said they could see Temperance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Agh, technical stuff gets nasty! Sorry if this is totally off, but I tried my best. I'm really not a good "case plot" writer. I try to stick with pure human interaction...as much of it as possible. Hope you enjoy this anyway! Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, and I've never had 14 people on my alert list before!**

** Jed**

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Booth followed Amanda to Brennan's room, Parker still in his arms. "They'll want to keep her overnight for observation," Amanda said. Booth nodded and pushed the door to Brennan's room open. She was sitting up in bed, her shoulder in a sling. Tears were pouring down her face but she didn't seem to notice. He walked in and put Parker in the chair next to the bed. 

As soon as Booth entered the room, Temperance looked up. The tears on her cheeks were joined by more. Booth sat next to her on the bed and gathered her carefully in his arms. She used her good arm to push him away and ignored the hurt expression he gave. The look on her face made Booth's heart fall to his stomach.

"They took her, Booth. They took my baby. They took Abby!" She was crying hysterically now. Booth could hear his heart quickly beating, his chest heaving with nervous breaths. "Temperance, what are you talking about?" She looked at him with wide, wet eyes.

"They kidnapped her Booth. I don't know who. They took her from the car. Seeley, they took her!" She collapsed into his arms, heartbroken sobs filling the room. "My baby," she whimpered over and over. Booth just held her, trying to comprehend what she was telling him. He glanced over at Parker. Somehow, he'd fallen asleep and hadn't awakened even during Brennan's screams.

This wasn't happening. This was what Parker was talking about. Abby-no. His little girl…she's only five months old! He had to call Cullen, but he couldn't leave Temperance.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Bones had cried herself to sleep. He laid her back on the bed and walked out of the room. A tearful Angela stood before him. "Booth, what happened? Where's Bren? How's Parker? Abby?" She tried to enter the room as she spoke, but Booth stopped both her movements and her words by placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Angela, sit down." She let him push her into a chair and he sat down next to her.

"Ange…Parker's fine. Tempe's got broken ribs, a concussion and a bruised shoulder." Angela looked worried still. "But she's okay?" Booth looked sick.

"No. She's not." Hodgins walked up to them and sat on Angela's other side. "Booth, what do you mean? What's wrong?" He looked her in the eye, and then looked at Hodgins. Jack must have seen something in the agent's gaze, for he held Angela tighter. Booth looked down at his hands.

"Whoever made them crash, took Abby out of the car. They kidnapped her, Ange. They kidnapped Abby."

Jack's eyes were filled with tears and he crushed Angela to his chest. Her hand went up to her mouth and she began to sob. Booth ran his hand through his hair.

"Ange, I need you to do something for me. I have to go call Cullen. I've got to go to the scene. But I can't leave Bones alone. She and Parker are asleep in there right now. I need you to be strong, and I need you to stay with them." Angela nodded. She wiped her eyes and stood up, walking into Brennan's room. Booth and Hodgins got to their feet as well.

"Whatever you need, man, you've got it. If I can help in anyway…not matter how much money you need, anything." Booth just nodded and put his hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Thanks. It means a lot." Hodgins took a deep breath. "You know you won't' be on the case." Booth nodded again. "I just need to see it for myself. Once the F.B.I. gets there they won't let me near it. I have to see for myself what happened." Hodgins nodded and patted Booth's shoulder. "Good luck."

Booth started walking away, and then turned back. "Watch over everyone here for me, will you?" Hodgins promised he would

---

Booth got the location of the accident from the police's report at the nurse's station. The whole way there he tried to steel himself up for what he would see. He'd heard some of the nurses talking about how bad it was, but nothing could have prepared him for what he found.

Brennan's red SUV had broken through the guard rail and rolled down an embankment 20 yards down. It landed right side up at the edge of a line of trees. The roof over Temperance's door had been so damaged the firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to get her out. Somehow the back doors were in better condition; the kidnappers had been able to open the door themselves and reach Abby.

Booth stood in front of the wreckage, his hands on his hips. This could have been a lot worse, but right now he couldn't feel the relief he should have experienced. His family was alive, but not all accounted for. That status could change at any moment, but he wouldn't know.

Booth shook his head and walked back up the embankment. He pulled out his cell phone. They needed to find his daughter.

"Sir, this is Booth. My family was in an accident…Yes, sir, Dr. Brennan and Parker are fine…Sir, Abigail has been kidnapped…No, she doesn't know who…Yes, sir. Thank you…Yes, I know. I'll be at the hospital." Cullen had promised to send his best agents to take care of this, and Booth knew he would hold to that. Right now, he had to get back to his wife and son. With one last look at the totaled vehicle, Booth walked back to his car, wondering how they were going to get through this one.

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**Well, I'll try to get the next chapter done soon, but with finals and graduation this week, you never know. Oh, the end of senior year! Goodbye high school! (pumps fist in air, then cries a little...bittersweet)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait! School's finally out, but I didn't know what to write. I hate that... Well, it kinda helps when your mother's pressuring you to put up a new chapter...anyway, I wrote this in less than an hour tonight, so if there are any mistakes, my apologies, and feel free to inform me of them. **

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A man sat on the porch railing of his house, his back resting against a wooden pillar that helped support the roof above him. His hands moved deftly as he scraped a knife across a wooden block, whittling out a shape that for now only he could see. His keen eyes moved between the items in his hand and the street, searching the latter carefully before focusing back on his project for a few minutes. He didn't think his search of the residential drive would find anything, but he wasn't about to take any chances. He knew that even he could make mistakes. 

He heard a frustrated yell follow a baby's cry inside the house and set down the wood and knife. He opened the front door and went to the back bedroom. Pushing the door open, he saw a woman pacing back and forth in front of a crib, desperately bouncing a baby in her arms. Her cold eyes found him when he entered, and she held the infant out to him.

"Here. You take it. I can't make it shut up." The man took the baby and walked over to the table in the corner of the room. He stuck his hand in the bag that sat on the table and pulled out a pacifier. Not two seconds after he put it in the baby's mouth, she quieted down. Gently rocking the baby in his arms, he turned to the woman.

"Rita, you can't call a baby an 'it'. You say 'her'. And you have to be gentler; she's not your latest partner." Rita rolled her eyes and pulled off her shirt, throwing it to the ground.

"Whatever. Babies are disgusting. I can't wear this shirt again." The man laughed quietly, the baby finally falling asleep.

"Oh, my sweet. Throw it in the laundry and it will be fine. Good as new." Rita scrunched up her face in disgust.

"Won't help any. I'll just keep remembering the vomit that she put on it." She waited for him to put the sleeping baby in the crib. "How did you do that?"

He shrugged. "You learn. You have to develop 'the touch'. Now, come here." She stepped into his open arms. He pulled her close, connecting his mouth to hers. When his hands moved to the back of her exposed bra, she pulled him towards the other bedroom.

An hour later they were lying in the bed, one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders. She had her head on his shoulder and she was drawing imaginary lines on his chest and stomach.

"What's the next part of your plan?" His eyes lost their softness and she felt his body tense underneath her.

"I'll wait until Thursday, then deliver the note. Statistics show that the first twenty-four hours are crucial in kidnapping cases, so I'll make them sweat for an extra day, before the nightmares start." Rita frowned.

"Forty-eight hours? Are you sure that's long enough?"

"That's plenty long enough. They won't even remember these two days after I'm done with them." She moved her hand to his cheek. He refused to tell her what made him so angry. Her fingers found their way to his forehead, and traced the angry red mark that ran from the top left of his face to the bottom right. She had a feeling it had something to do with that.

---

Booth walked back into Brennan's hospital room and was surprised to find everyone but the patient gone. He looked around the room before turning back to the bed and sitting in the chair next to it, a confused expression on his face. Brennan was curled on her left side, her right arm clutched to her chest and her eyes shut.

"Angela and Hodgins took Parker to get some clean clothes and ice cream." She still didn't open her eyes, even when Booth tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She pulled away slightly and Booth took in a quick breath, momentarily hurt. It was quickly forgotten when he saw her wince.

"Aren't you in pain?"

"They've got me on morphine." Booth shook his head once.

"That's not going to do a lot if you're lying like that." He suddenly found himself looking into her mesmerizing eyes.

"I don't care, Booth. I want it to hurt. The only other option is numbness. I can't stand that. Pain, pain is good." She closed her eyes again and Booth sat back in the chair, rubbing his hands roughly over his face. He already had stubble on his chin and knew he was in for one of the hardest times of his life.

He could already feel Temperance pulling away from him and knew he had to somehow stop her retreat. He wouldn't be able to find his daughter and take care of Parker and Tempe if his wife wasn't totally there with him.

"Bones-" he was interrupted when the door swung open and Parker ran to him. "Daddy!" Booth wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him onto his lap. Parker hugged him and Booth buried his face in his son's shirt, breathing in his scent. He still had Parker. Even if Temperance distanced herself from him, even though he didn't know where his baby was, he still had Parker. His son would be there for him and need him no matter what. At least he had that.

He looked up to find Angela and Hodgins standing on the other side of Brennan's bed. Angela could tell by one look at Booth that the accident had been bad. She grabbed Jack's hand and held it tightly. "Do you still want us to stay? It wouldn't be a problem." Booth ran a hand through Parker's golden curls.

"I think we'll be fine for now. Thank you. Thanks a lot." The couple nodded. Angela leaned down and kissed Brennan's cheek. "Goodnight sweetie."

She turned just before walking through the door. "If you need us, for anything, call. No matter what time or how crazy, call." Booth nodded and the artist sent him a sympathetic smile before leaving.

Parker was starting to fall asleep again, and Booth continued to rub circles on his back. The pain had finally disappeared from Bones' face, letting him know she was asleep. She was going to run away again. Maybe not physically, but emotionally, she would be gone before he could lace up his proverbial sneakers. It wouldn't be the first time, but if she did it now, he'd have a harder time of getting her back home. He had to stop her. He needed her.

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**Like I said before, I'm not to good at writing case-plots, but I'm trying. Therefore, it might take me a little while to put each chapter up, because I'm not that skilled at writing like this. So please bear with me, and thank you for your cooperation!**

**-Jed**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait. Summer's here and I tend to get lazy when it happens. But I didn't forget about this story, I promise. My muse has just been out of town for a while. Hope this satisfies you until I get the next chapter up! -Jed**

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Booth sat up with a start. Even as he rubbed his hands over his weary eyes he couldn't remember what had scared him enough to wake him up. As he blinked the sleep away, he realized he was sitting in a hospital room, in an uncomfortable plastic chair. The previous day's events came rushing back to him, and he knew what had scared him. Temperance was hurt and Abby kidnapped; Booth quickly looked over to the bed in front of him, where his wife and son lay sleeping side by side. He realized he'd fallen asleep while sitting by them, his head resting on the mattress. He rolled his shoulders in a vain attempt to get rid of the cramp he only just recognized.

With one more look at the bed's occupants, he decided they'd be sleeping for a while longer and made his way to the cafeteria to get some much needed coffee. He glanced at his watch as he walked through the eerily quiet halls of the hospital. It was two in the morning, meaning he'd gotten approximately five hours of sleep. As he stepped out of the elevator and turned the corner, the thought came to him that he might just have to look for a coffee machine. He was surprised to find the cafeteria open at the early hour, but the two people working there just smiled as he paid for his coffee.

He'd only taken one sip of his drink when his cell phone rang. He fully intended to just let the call go to voicemail if it wasn't someone important. The caller id said it was Cullen, and all thoughts of ignoring the call went away as he answered.

"Sorry for the early call, Booth. How are Dr. Brennan and Parker doing?" Booth stepped outside, welcoming the cold night air as it hit him.

"They're sleeping. The doctors might let Temperance go home today, if she checks out okay."

"That's good. Listen, Booth, I know this is going to be really difficult, but we need to ask Dr. Brennan what happened. Anything she can tell us might help find Abby sooner." Booth nodded, knowing it had to be done while dreading having to make Tempe go through it again. Cullen kept talking.

"I'm sending Agents Greene and Lacey over. I've put them on this case." Booth nodded again and breathed a small sigh of relief. Alexis Greene and Simon Lacey had worked dozens of kidnapping cases, and Booth was glad he had the best looking for his daughter. At the same time, he hated hearing the words "this case" and having them apply to him, to his family.

"Thank you, sir."

"They'll be there around seven. Until then Booth, try to get some sleep. That doctor and son of yours are going to need you."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

He ended the call and swallowed the last of his coffee. As he crushed the Styrofoam cup in his hand, he asked himself for the thousandth time who would want to take his daughter. He knew it could just be a random occurrence and could have nothing to do with the work that he and Bones do, but the odds of that being the case were very slim. So until someone told him otherwise, he was going to assume he had really ticked off the wrong person and he ran through his mental database of cases to see who might want revenge.

After a few minutes of thinking and once again coming up empty, Booth threw the crushed coffee cup into a trash bin and made his way inside. The soft clicking sound his shoes made as he walked the silent halls of the darkened hospital echoed and he couldn't help but shudder. Hospitals at night are creepy, another point on his list of reasons he hated them.

He reclaimed his seat next to Temperance's bed and ran his fingers through Parker's curls before brushing a few loose strands of hair from Tempe's face. For a while he just sat there, watching the two of them sleeping, and he couldn't help but feel dread. Something was missing, and he wanted nothing more than to go out right then and look for that something. He smiled as he heard the rational part of his brain, which sounded oddly like his wife, tell him that it would do no good to search on his own, that he had no idea where to start and that the best course of action was to stay close to the family he still had with him.

Finally, the pull of sleep became stronger than the caffeine coursing through his system, and Booth laid his head on the mattress before him once more, not even caring about the knot he would have to work out of his shoulders later.

---

A nurse fell heavily onto the chair behind her, and she rolled it closer to the desk. Her watch read six-fifteen, a mere quarter of an hour after she started her shift. She sighed, knowing it was going to be one of those days that just seemed to drag on. Soon enough she'd have to make rounds and make sure patients got their medicines.

She'd just started making her way through some overdue paperwork when she heard someone clear their throat. She looked up and saw a tall man standing before her, a cowboy hat pulled low over his forehead and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. She thought she saw a line run across his nose and disappear into the thick stubble on his chin, but she wasn't about to stare. Professional courtesy kicked in and she asked "Can I help you with something, sir?"

He placed an envelope on the counter of the nurses station. "I was wondering if you could give this to Special Agent Seeley Booth. I believe his wife is a patient here." She took the envelope and nodded. "Certainly. I'll give it to him as soon as he's awake." The man thanked her and left. She returned to her paperwork, having no idea whom she had just spoken with.


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, here you go! The other night I just got the un-ignorable urge to write a new chapter, so I've been working on this since then. Stupid computer difficulties made it take longer, but without further ado, here you go! (Hope I don't disappoint!)**

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The digital numbers of the clock on the car's dashboard changed to seven o'clock before he turned the key, shutting down the engine and making the little lights fade away. He stepped out of the car and heard the faint sound of a baby wailing, the noise coming from the house. He felt anger build up in him and slammed the car door shut. 

Storming his way into the back bedroom he almost stumbled backwards a step. The stench hit him like a bucket of cold water. Steeling himself up, he stepped over to the crib and looked in. The baby was lying in a large mess of diaper overflow and spit-up. Despite himself, his jaw dropped in disgust and near-horror. He wanted to go find Rita and smack some sense into her, but that would have to wait.

After grabbing some towels and the baby essentials, he began to clean up the mess. He accidentally kicked something plastic, and found a mostly-full bottle lying on the floor, formula in a puddle on the wood. He picked it up and found that it was much too strong- excess powder sat in globs on the bottom. He suppressed another groan and continued to clean the baby.

Once the sheets were changed, the soiled laundry thrown in the washing machine, the baby bathed, correctly fed and sleeping, he went in search of his woman.

He found her in the bedroom, the exact place he expected to find her. She was asleep in the middle of the bed, oblivious to the cries that had filled the house not a half-hour ago. There was a pillow over her head, as if she had been holding it there to drown out the sound. The anger that had disappeared when he saw the baby came back full force. He picked up a glass sitting on a near-by dresser and threw it onto the ground, an animalistic roar coming from his mouth.

The sleeping woman jumped up immediately, confused and panicked. When she realized what had woken her up-or rather, who- she tried to get off the bed. She didn't get very far, though; she had tangled herself up so tightly in the sheets she could only hop her way across the bed. The man stepped over to the bed, grabbed her arm and pulled her upright so she was standing in front of him. She visibly cowered at the rage filling his eyes.

"What did you do to her?" She only whimpered.

"Rita! What did you do? Why did I find her like that?" Rita's knees buckled and she fell to the floor, but he still held on _very_ tightly to her arm. He pulled her up again.

"ANSWER ME!!!" Tears fell from her eyes as she began to stutter her reply.

"It was hungry, so I made it a stinkin' bottle." She looked up at him, tears ceased and replaced by defiance. "That's what you're supposed to do, _right_? Feed the stupid things?"

His free hand moved so quickly she didn't realize he was slapping her until she found herself facing the wall instead of him.

"What did you do, make a bottle and just stick it in the crib, like she could feed herself?" Rita scoffed a little.

"No! Even I'm smart enough to know that the brat's too young to be able to do anything herself. I stuck the bottle in her mouth until she stopped crying." She flinched as he almost hit her again.

"You just left her lying in her own feces and vomit! I told you, for the plan to work you've got to take care of her. She can't die. Not yet." He let her go and began to pace the small room, the broken glass on the floor crunching underneath his boots. Rita began to get dressed, her cheek throbbing and hot.

"Why couldn't we have taken the other kid? At least he's old enough to do things on his own. We wouldn't have to-" He spun around to face her, the look of anger and frustration on his face just slightly less than before.

"NO! I told you, it had to be the girl. It wouldn't have worked if we'd taken the boy." Rita pulled her shirt on.

"But taking the guy's son, wouldn't that be worse than his daughter? Don't guys like sons more than daughters?"

"No. At least, they shouldn't." A brief look of sorrow flashed across his face, before he became impassive again. "Besides, this will hurt him more." He groaned at Rita's look of frustration.

"The girl we took is his daughter with Dr. Brennan, his wife and "soul mate". What did I say was the reason we took the baby?"

"You want revenge." He nodded and looked out the window.

"Exactly. To do that, I've got to make Booth suffer. I take his son, not good enough. Sure, it would hurt Booth and the kid's mom, but there's always the wife and daughter to turn to for comfort. Now, I take the girl, Booth is tormented, Dr. Brennan begins to withdraw and runs away. Double the grief and pain. And over the years the pain just builds up, and I've got my revenge on Seeley Booth."

---

The clock on the nurses' desk had barely changed to read 7:00 when two people in suits approached. The disinterested nurse ignored them, not looking up from her paperwork. Irritated, the man of the duo pulled out a wallet and opened it up so she could see.

"Hi. Special Agents Lacey and Greene, F.B.I. Could you tell us what room Dr. Brennan is in?" Only his partner could hear the veiled curtness in his voice. Despite his annoyance with the nurse, Agent Lacey smiled at her; the grin had the desired effect, and the nurse suddenly seemed more willing to be of assistance. She looked at a sheet of paper and flashed him a sickly sweet smile.

"Dr. Brennan is in room 1405." Agent Lacey smiled once more and thanked her. As he and his partner walked away, the nurse called them back.

"Agent! This was delivered about an hour ago. It's for Agent Booth." Lacey took the envelope and thanked her again.

As the two agents made their way to room 1405, Agent Greene smiled as she heard her usually quiet partner grumble under his breath about the nurse's attitude. If there was one thing that her partner hated aside from criminals, it was hospital staff who acted like they didn't care. Few knew, but Simon Greene's sister died when she was four and the family was in a car accident. The cause of her death was officially the extent of her injuries, but the family said that the doctors didn't seem to try hard enough. It had scarred a twelve year old Simon and was the cause for his current complaining.

They reached the room and composed themselves before quietly entering. Booth was sitting next to the bed and reading a newspaper; his wife and son still lay sleeping next to each other on the bed. He looked up and then stood when they entered. With a wave of his hand he signaled them to go back out to the hallway. Once the door closed behind him he shook their hands.

"Hey. Thanks for coming out." Agent Greene spoke up.

"No problem. We can wait a little, if you want to let them sleep a while longer." Booth ran his hand over his face and through his hair, trying to wipe fatigue away. He hadn't been able to sleep much longer after his two a.m. coffee.

"No, I'll wake them up. We should get this done with as soon as possible. They can rest again later." Lacey handed him the envelope the nurse had given him.

"This came in about an hour ago, the nurse said. It's for you." Booth nodded and went back into Brennan's room. He sat in the chair he had just vacated and brushed a stray piece of hair from Brennan's face. She stirred at the contact and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey." Booth gave her a tender smile.

"Hey yourself. How're you feeling?" His wife just shrugged in response. Booth took her hand and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

"Listen, Cullen sent over some agents. They've got to get your statement, so they can start looking for Abby more efficiently." He held his breath as he waited for his wife's reaction. Finally, she gave a hesitant nod and he breathed out.

"Cullen sent Agents Simon Lacey and Alexis Greene. They're the best with missing persons." He said it very gently, fearful that any wrong word or tone would send her over the edge. She only nodded again, and he leaned down to kiss her forehead before going out to the hallway to bring in the agents.

He stood in the corner of the room, letting Lacey and Greene take the two chairs. Temperance told them what had happened, how she was on the way to meet Booth at Wong Foo's when she realized she was being followed by a black SUV. She described how she tried to get away, but the car ran her off the road. Agent Greene spoke up, her voice soft and kind.

"What's the last thing you remember before waking up again?" Brennan's eyes filled with tears again and Booth noticed her bite her lip in an attempt to keep it from trembling.

"I heard the car door open. I thought it might be a Good Samaritan coming to help, to get the kids out. The last thing I heard was Abby crying…and it sounded like she was far away." Her voice choked with a sob and she pulled Parker closer to her- the boy was still asleep, exhausted by the previous day's events.

"So all you remember about the car was that it was a black SUV, the same kind the government issues, Virginia license plate, the first symbol a Y?" Brennan simply nodded, her face still buried in Parker's hair. The agents stood up.

"Thank you for your co-operation, Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth. We'll see what we can make of this information, and I promise you- we will do our best to find your daughter. It's our top priority." Booth straightened from his leaning position on the wall and shook their hands again.

"Thanks." They left the room and Booth sat back down. His eye caught the white envelope he'd set down on the bedside table. He picked it up and opened it while Temperance appeared to be falling back to sleep. He'd barely read the first few words when his heart began to race and he felt the blood drain from his face. Fear gripped him. He quickly read the rest of the letter before he jumped out of the chair, almost upsetting it and ran out of the room. He caught up with Greene and Lacey as they reached the elevators at the end of the hall.

"Lacey! It's him. The letter- it's from the kidnapper!" He held out the paper and the other agent took it as he shared a look with his partner. It was a simple piece of computer printer paper folded into thirds. On it was the clichéd "ransom note" letters cut from magazines and newspapers. Greene looked over her partner's shoulder as they read.

_SPECIAL AGENT SEELEY BOOTH-_

_By nOw yoU know ThAt I hAVE yOuR DauGhtEr._

_DoN'T worry, I Won't harm HeR. YET._

_I wAnT $5 MiLLiON bY tONiGht._

_BRinG it To sHePheRd'S pARk in_

_MARYLAND- bLUe recycling BINS by _

_Jungle GYM. 1500 toDAY._

_You'll find Abby at the Stan Shack in _

_Virginia at the same time. _

_Don't try anything or your wife's colleagues_

_Will have your daughter in their lab._

The last four lines were printed from a computer. Lacey looked at Greene and then at Booth. Greene stormed off towards the nurses' station.

"Excuse me. That letter that was delivered for Agent Booth- who delivered it?" The nurse shrugged and looked back down at her paperwork.

"I don't know, some guy." The F.B.I agent slammed her open palm down on the counter. The nurse jumped at the sharp sound that echoed throughout the quiet hall.

"What did he look like!?" Greene's voice held a tone that told the nurse she'd have a gun trained on her in a minute if she didn't comply.

"Uh, dark sunglasses, cowboy hat, dark stubble-but it was almost a beard. He was tall, had a deep voice and I think he was wearing leather gloves." The nurse stuttered out her answer in hopes that it would appease the agent standing before her.

"Anything else?" The nurse shook her head.

"He only asked that Agent Booth receive the letter." Agent Greene smiled.

"Thank you." She began to walk back to the two men, who were staring at her, shocked at her outburst. She simply raised her eyebrow, causing them to look elsewhere. Lacey read over the letter again.

"We'll get this back to the F.B.I., Booth. We'll tell Cullen and see what the lab guys get from it, if anything. I'll also request a psychologist to take a look at it, see if there's anything hidden in the message." He looked right into his friend's eyes. "We'll find her Booth. I promise." Greene glanced at her partner, but looked at Booth with the same resolve Lacey had. They would find her-if they wanted to keep as good an agent as Booth in the Bureau, they would find her.

* * *

**I haven't had time to read over it, so if there are any mistakes, please forgive me!! Hope you enjoyed!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry this one's not as long as the last, but that one was a little unusual. Anyway, I'm leaving for school in less than two weeks, and I don't know how much time I'll have to devote to writing, so I'm going to write as much as I can now. We'll see where this goes!**

* * *

Booth walked back into Brennan's hospital room to find her awake and watching her fingers as she ran them through Parker's curls. He sat back down and looked at her. She didn't look at him, but continued to stare at her fingers. Booth didn't know what to do. He could tell he had to be very careful with his words, but how do you carefully tell your wife about a ransom note for your daughter? He cleared his throat.

"Tempe, we, uh," he ran his hand through his hair. "We got a ransom note." She still didn't look at him, but her fingers stopped moving. "Greene and Lacey took it back to the F.B.I. They'll see what they can get from it." Her fingers began moving through Parker's hair again. Booth just watched her closely, wanting to ready himself for whatever reaction she might have. Finally she spoke, her voice soft, quiet and dripping with sorrow.

"We're not going to find her, are we?" Booth's heart broke at the despair in her voice. He got up and sat on the edge of her bed. He leaned over so his face was inches from hers and placed his hands on her cheeks.

"Listen to me, Temperance. We are going to find her. We _will_ get her back. I'm not going to stop until we do. But I need you to stay with me. I can't do this without you." She finally brought her eyes up to meet his. Both pairs were filled with tears and as Brennan let hers slide down her cheeks, Booth rested his forehead on hers. "I promise. We'll find her." As he kissed her forehead he heard Parker stir, and he pulled back to pull his son into his arms.

"Hey bub. How're you doing?" The little boy rubbed his eyes sleepily.

" 'm hungry." Booth chuckled.

"Well, we better get you something to eat then, huh?" Just then a nurse came in and said they needed to leave for a moment while the doctor examined Brennan. Booth picked Parker up and leaned over once more to kiss Brennan's forehead.

"We'll be right back." Parker kissed her forehead as well.

"Love you Mom." Tears filled their eyes again. Parker usually called Brennan "Dr. Bones", but every now and then they heard him call her "Mom". Booth looked at the two of them with pride and affection in his eyes. Brennan could do nothing but smile. She vaguely recalled hearing him call her that when they were in the car, moments before they crashed.

"Love you too, Parker." Her two men left the room in the direction of the cafeteria.

---

He sat at a desk in the sparsely furnished living room, his mind on nothing but the content on the computer before him. He'd pulled up every piece of news there was about the kidnapping of the daughter of Special Agent Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan. It was reported that Dr. Brennan had been driving with Parker and Abigail Booth in her vehicle when she was forced off the road, by a black SUV with a Virginia license plate, the first digit a 'Y'. After the vehicle had settled someone opened the door and stole the infant from her car seat. The boy was apparently unharmed, but Dr. Brennan had been admitted with mostly mild injuries. As of yet there was no comment by either parent, but a full investigation was underway. Every news station gave the number for the F.B.I. hotline, should anyone know the whereabouts of the girl or the vehicle.

One station had a video of the scene, F.B.I. agents and crime scene technicians crawling all over the site of the accident. The anchor was informing viewers that the man the camera was following was Agent Booth, the father of the missing girl. He was being ushered by an agent back to his vehicle, and attempts to speak with him were unsuccessful.

They all reported that earlier that morning a ransom note had been delivered, but there was no further information along that line. He leaned back and rubbed at his chin. He'd shaved earlier, and his skin was a little angry with him for it. Along with descriptions of the missing vehicle and the missing girl were descriptions of him, which he knew were given to the F.B.I. by the nurse he'd handed the ransom note to earlier. He'd disguised himself enough to prevent them from being able to compose a sketch of him, and getting rid of the beard would throw them further.

At first he'd been planning to keep them in the dark until tomorrow, but he'd changed his mind. He decided to deliver the ransom note this morning. It would all work out, one way or another. He would make Seeley Booth suffer.

---

Angela walked into the Jeffersonian around nine that morning and found Jack and Zach sitting around, forlorn expressions on their faces. She looked towards the platform, then to Brennan's darkened office and missed her friend greatly. After depositing her things in her office she went to where the boys were sitting and joined them.

"C'mon, guys! Brennan's getting out of the hospital today. The F.B.I.'s all over this case and you know Booth won't give up, even if he's not officially working it. We can't just sit around here, _moping_ all day! Let's get to work!" She hopped up and slapped Jack's back.

"Work on what? We have no case." Angela glared in Zach's direction.

"We'll go to their house, decorate a little. Booth called, the doctor's letting Brennan out around eleven. We can have a mini party!" Jack laughed and stood up.

"Anything beats sitting around here. Come on, man. Let's go buy some party stuff." The three gathered their stuff and left the lab. They knew they wouldn't be able to cheer the family up much, but they would do what they could.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm SOOO sorry for the long wait. Fall quarter was so busy and then my hard drive crashed in winter quarter. I finally got a new one, but I lost all my stories that weren't saved elsewhere. And of course, my main story over on fictionpress wasn't fully updated on my home computer. I'm so scared to see just how much I lost. Luckily I write a good deal of that on paper before typing. But I still lost way too much and I'm not brave enough to see just how much. **

**So here's another chapter. I decided I needed some reviews (how selfish of me!) and saw that there are like, 32 of you on my alert list. So here you go. I should've been studying for the Ecclesiology exam and verse quiz I have tomorrow, but I wrote this instead. It's pretty crappy (it's been so long I'd forgotten where the story was, so there might be some errors in my facts and whatnot. please point those out to me and I'll fix them), but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. I'll try to get more up sooner, but we'll see how things go. **

**Without further ado, Chapter 8.**

* * *

"Come on Bones, just a few more steps. We're almost there." Booth had his arm wrapped loosely around his wife's waist, guiding her as they walked towards their front door.

Brennan glared at him. "I can walk just fine, Booth. You don't need to coddle me." Booth leaned down and kissed her forehead. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to." Temperance scowled at him but kept walking toward the door. Parker carried a bag holding the stuff she was bringing back from the hospital.

"Hey bub, why don't you open the door for Tempe?" The little boy grabbed the key from his father and opened up the door. His parents were one step from the door when it swung open and they heard "Welcome Home!" shouted from inside.

Both adults stopped short. Their team was standing in the entryway, balloons and streamers hanging from the ceiling of the living room beyond. A brightly colored banner reading "welcome home" hung just above the doorway to the living room. Angela stepped forward as Booth and Brennan stepped over the threshold.

"Now sweetie, I know you're probably not feeling anything like a party, but we needed to do something to keep busy, and we figured it would excite Parker for a while. Plus, we really are glad you're out of the hospital." Brennan's look of annoyance turned into one of thanks.

"I guess, if it'll keep Parker happy- I'm okay with it. I'm really tired, but- thanks, Ange. Thanks guys." They smiled and Booth shared a grateful look with the whole group.

Parker ran in with the same amount of excitement he showed on his birthday. "Dad! There's cake! And presents!" Both Brennan and Seeley raised their eyebrows and looked at their friends. Zach was suddenly very interested in the pictures on the wall, Jack rubbed his neck and Angela crossed her arms in a manner that dared either of them to make a fuss.

"It's a party, right? Parties need cake, and the presents-well, we like to spoil you guys. They're mostly for Parker anyway."

"It's okay Angela…I need to sit down now." Booth walked her over to the couch and helped her sit down. She swatted his hand away as he started to arrange the pillows around her, and he went to get her a glass of water. She took a pain killer and propped her feet up on the coffee table. "Just this once," she justified.

When her eyes fell on the bassinet in the corner, tears blurred her vision. Booth's words rang in her ears. They would find her. They had to. Angela followed her gaze and hissed at Jack. "I told you to put that in the other room!" Jack started to defend himself when Brennan spoke up.

"It's okay guys. We'll find her. It won't be empty for long." Booth walked back in the room with a plate of cake for her. She rejected the cake but grabbed his hand.

"I want to go into the lab tomorrow." Before he could say anything, she explained. "I want to see if there's anything else I can remember, anything else I can help with. I know neither of us can work on this case at all, but I have to do something, Booth. I can't just sit here and wait and hope that they find her. I have to do something." Booth searched her face for a while.

"We'll go in together. We'll give Parker another tour of the museum. And you can see if there's anything you can come up with."

She gave him a grateful smile and let him go back to the kitchen.

Booth was in the kitchen cutting another piece of cake when his cell phone rang.

"Booth."

_"Booth, it's Simon. Lab techs couldn't get anything off the ransom note. Perp must've worn gloves. They're going to send someone to the drop off site and someone to the place he said Abby would be."_

"How sure are we this isn't a trap?"

_"There's a chance it will be. We're not giving him five million, but we're gonna make it look like we are. If it's a trap, there's not too much harm done."_

"Thanks for the update."

_"No problem, man. We'll find her."_

Booth knew that the odds were against them getting Abby back this afternoon, but he said a silent prayer anyway.

Three o'clock rolled around and the whole Jeffersonian team sat in the living room anxiously waiting for news. Brennan was hugging Parker to her, rocking slightly back and forth. Hodgins had his arms wrapped around Angela, and Zach tried to keep himself preoccupied by reading one of Brennan's old anthropology journals. It was one he'd already memorized.

Booth sat next to Brennan, silently praying as his mind went through the SOP for situations like these. Finally, just before four, his cell phone rang. His heart started jumping around his chest as the rest of the room jumped in surprise.

"Booth."

_"Agent Booth, it's Cullen. We went to the sites like planned. No one was at either site. The money wasn't taken and Abby wasn't there. I'm sorry Booth. We'll keep looking at this from another angle."_

"Thank you, sir." He hung up. They didn't find her. And they weren't sure how they ever would.

He took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving the phone in his hands. "It was a set-up. No one was at either site. There was no sign of Abby." He heard Brennan's sob as she buried her face in Parker's hair. Angela started crying and Jack tightened his arms around her. Even Zach looked like he might cry.

Booth turned to Brennan and tried to comfort her, but she shied away from his touch and held Parker tighter. "A minute, Booth. Please give me that." His hands fell at his sides, his shoulders slumped in a dejectedly.

He got up and walked out the patio door. He took a seat on the porch swing and dropped his head into his hands. For the millionth time that day, he begged God to give his little girl back to him. They were running out of time. The statistics for cases like these- sometimes he hated being in law enforcement.

The door opened again and someone sat next to him. "I miss her, Booth. I want my baby." He sat up and wrapped his arms around her. "Are we ever going to find her?" Her question broke his heart. He dropped his face into her hair to hide his tears.

"I hope so, Bones. I hope so." _We have to._


	9. Chapter 9

"Mary, come here." The twenty-three year old receptionist called for her boss to come over. Mary McCowen was forty-two, tall and the type of person who was kind but not intimidated at all. A Navy nurse for sixteen years, she started a daycare upon her separation from the Navy. She cared for her kids and the women she worked with. No stupid laws or ridiculous parents got in her way.

"What's up, Nina?" The younger woman handed her a printout from the computer.

"Check out that picture. Look familiar to you at all?" Mary looked at it.

"Yeah, that's the little girl that got kidnapped the other day. Some F.B.I. agent's daughter, right?" Nina nodded.

"Anything else stand out about her?" Mary looked at the picture before shaking her head.

"What's going on here, Nina?" The young brunette got up from her seat and walked into the area that housed the cribs and stuff for the very young children. She went to one of the occupied cribs. The whiteboard on the wall above it read "Susan/Rita," telling the staff that the baby was Susan and her mother was Rita.

Nina picked the baby up and held her out slightly to Mary. "Notice anything familiar now?" Mary looked between the baby and the picture still in her hand.

"Oh my word." She looked between the baby and the picture again. "Nina, get me the F.B.I. on the phone."

--

He was angry. No, angry did not cover it. He wasn't sure if furious, or any other word in the English language would sufficiently describe how irate he was. He'd returned from the store to find the house empty. No Rita. No baby. He'd told her not to leave the house while he was gone. With no idea where she'd gone, there was nothing he could do but wait for Rita to come back.

Three hours later he heard the door open. He waited until she was in the kitchen before he got up from his seat in the living room. His steps were silent as he walked up behind her, his hand retrieving the knife from his pocket. Rita stood at the counter completely oblivious to what was going on behind her. Swift movements found her left arm twisted up behind her back, his body pressing hers hard to the counter as his right arm brought the knife up to her neck. A startled gasp left her lips as his mouth moved in by her ear.

"Where did you go?" His voice was deep and sinister. He could feel her shaking beneath him, and when she didn't answer him he pressed the knife a little harder into her skin. "Answer me!"

"I, I- I went to the spa."

"Where's the baby?" She whimpered as the knife cut into her skin. "What did you do with the baby?" He was shouting now, twisting her arm more and eliciting a cry a pain from her lips.

"S-s-some d-dayc-c-care. B-b-busyb-b-bee's" He slammed her even harder against the counter and he was sure he heard bones cracking underneath her screams. "You left her at a daycare?! Where anybody might recognize her from the pictures plastered all over the news?! You idiot!" Without further thought his right arm pressed in as he brought it back towards him. When he stepped back her body fell at his feet, her hands moving to her neck. In a further fit of anger he brought the knife back down, forcefully driving it into her chest. Within seconds her movements stopped. He stood in the kitchen, arms at his sides, chest heaving. Shaking with rage, he began to trash the kitchen.

When the whole house looked as though a tornado had swept through it, he grabbed his laptop and duffel bag and left the house. He had to get to that daycare before someone realized the little girl they were taking care of belonged to an F.B.I. agent.

--

"Agent Booth, there's a phone call for you. Line two." Booth was in his office when a young agent knocked on the door. He picked up the phone.

"Booth."

_"Agent Booth, this is Detective Hunt of the Metro PD. I've got a scene I think you should see."_

"What's the address?" He wrote it down. "I'll be right there." He slammed the phone down on the receiver and grabbed his jacket.

Twenty minutes later he was at the address the officer had given him. Yellow crime scene tape surrounded the property and cop cars were positioned all around the street. Booth got out of his SUV as a man in a suit walked towards him.

"Agent Booth, I'm Detective Hunt. We spoke on the phone." They shook hands. "If you'll come with me, I'll take you inside the house."

They walked into the small house and maneuvered their way around the various crime scene techs and police officers. They finally got into the kitchen, where the majority of the damage had been done. A woman lay on the floor in a pool of blood. A knife was sticking out of her chest and her throat had been slit. The kitchen was a total mess, as was the rest of the house.

"Her name's Rita Toms. Driver's license says she's 22. The address has been scratched out, but I'd say she's been living here for a while. There's a lot of woman's stuff in the bedroom and bathroom."

Booth stood up from his crouched position by the body. "Any idea who did this?" Detective Hunt stood up as well.

"Probably the guy that rented this place. There's something else you need to see. This is why I called you." He led him to a side room. There was a battered crib, dresser and changing table. Stacks of diapers, wipes, formula cans and bottles lined the top of the dresser. The drawers contained a few outfits for a young girl.

Booth felt his heart rate speed up as his breathing increased. He froze when he saw the blanket in the crib. He picked it up, going against every instinct that reminded him he's not supposed to touch things at crime scenes. Detective Hunt must not have cared either because he made no attempt to stop the agent.

Booth held the blanket in his hands. Pink flowers were sown onto a green background, and yellow letters spelled out "Abigail Kalen Booth- A Father's Joy". Booth crushed the fabric to his face. After a few moments, he pulled it back.

"Angela made this when Abby was born. She was born around seven in the morning and Angela had the blanket finished by eight that night." He looked up at Hunt. "You said you think that woman's killer is whoever rented this house." Hunt nodded. "Who's that?"

The detective looked at his notebook. "Nicholas Graves." Booth froze. He slowly looked up at Hunt, his eyes wide and deadly.

"Say that again."

"House was rented to a Nicholas Graves." Booth's jaw clenched. His knuckles were white as he squeezed the blanket. He began to shake slightly.

"Agent Booth, are you okay?" Booth's heart and lungs were racing now.

"Nicholas Graves was a man I served with in the Army. We were captured together. He was tortured, but we were rescued before they got to me." Hunt stared at the agent before him.

"You think he took Abby as revenge?" Booth closed his eyes and rubbed his hand over them.

"I wouldn't put it past him. He's got Abby's blanket and everything's set up to take care of a baby. The question is, where is she now?"


	10. Chapter 10

Nicholas Graves sat in a nondescript car across the street from Busybee Daycare. He'd been there for forty minutes now, watching the place and coming up with a plan to get the baby back. He knew that with each minute he waited the risk of being caught grew greater. He was fairly sure he was now in control enough to accomplish his task. With decisive movements he got out of the car, put on his hat and made his way across the street to the daycare's door.

* * *

"Booth, you're telling me an old Army buddy is the one who took Abby?" Cullen heard his agent confirm that.

"Why are you at that crime scene anyway…Booth, I don't care, you shouldn't have gone. You should have called me…Get back here ASAP." The _smack_ of the phone hitting the receiver hadn't completely vanished when there was an agent at his door.

"Director Cullen, we've got something off the hotline." Cullen stood up and moved around his desk.

"What is it?" He took the paper from the man.

"A receptionist at a daycare in Manassas, Virginia called. She saw the poster for Abby and recognized her. A woman named Rita Toms dropped the baby off at the daycare this morning. She's still there now."

Cullen looked at the man sharply when he said the woman's name. "You said Rita Toms?" The agent nodded.

"Agent Booth was just at the scene where she was murdered. She was the accomplice of Abby's kidnapper." With several authoritative shouts he called for a strike team to get ready because they were heading out to Manassas in ten minutes. He pulled his cell phone out and called the daycare's number, telling the woman to not let anyone but the F.B.I. enter the building. He quickly hung up and called Booth.

* * *

Booth was still on his way back to D.C. when Cullen called him. He'd just hung up with his boss five minutes before, and couldn't find a reason for him to call right back.

"Booth."

"We got a tip on the hotline. She's at a daycare in Virginia. Teams are being sent out now. We still don't know where Graves is though, correct?"

Booth swallowed the adrenaline and other emotions that were clogging his throat. "That's right, sir. There's a possibility he's there now." Dread quickly replaced the anticipation that had filled his stomach. He debated on whether or not to call Bones, and in the end he decided not to. He didn't want to add to her worry by letting her know the kidnapper might have her again. He almost begged Cullen to give him the address of the daycare, and his boss gave it to him, reluctant as he was.

Even though there was no way he'd be allowed to do anything but sit behind the scenes and wait, he wanted to be there. He needed to be there. With his lights now flashing and siren screaming, he sped toward Virginia, toward his daughter.

* * *

Nina looked up as the door opened. She'd been sitting at her desk since she called the F.B.I. hotline, tapping her fingers as she waited for them to show up. She frowned as she realized the man wasn't F.B.I., and the doors had been locked. He must have picked the lock. She quickly came up with an excuse for why he needed to leave.

"I'm sorry sir, we've closed early. I must have forgotten to switch the sign around. If you'd like to come back tomorrow-"The man's hand was around her throat before she'd even seen his arm move. She gasped for air, but he denied her of such a precious gift.

"Where's the baby?" She croaked out another gasp. She realized he must have been the kidnapper. Why else would he be doing this? She decided she wouldn't tell him, no matter what it cost. Mary was in the nursery, guarding the children. She couldn't let him find all of them.

"I won't ask again. Where. Is. The. Baby!" She looked him in the eye, her gaze defiant even as black spots danced across her vision. He saw she wasn't going to answer him or even beg for her life. He swung her around and pressed his forearm against her throat. He waited until he felt her sag beneath him, and dropped her to the floor behind the desk.

Looking around, he saw that the floor was still littered with toys and crayons. The woman said they closed early, but if they'd done that they would have cleaned the place up. He looked up and saw a door. He opened it only to find a bathroom. He tried the next one. Boxes of crayons, tubs of disinfecting wipes and other supplies stared back at him. Two more doors left. He opened the first one, and found twenty tiny faces swinging around to look at him.

A woman sat on the floor surrounded by the children. She stood up as soon as the door opened.

"Don't you hurt them." He laughed at her bravery.

"Don't worry. It's not them I want. You can all go out into the big room and play with your toys." He stepped into the room and to the side as Mary rushed the children into the main room. She stepped back toward the middle of the room, leaving space between her and the man.

"What did you do to Nina?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I did anything to her?" Mary crossed her arms.

"She wouldn't let anyone in who wasn't allowed."

"She'll be okay." Mary glared at him.

"Where's the girl?" He was answered with silence. "Where is she!!"

Mary still made no sound or motion. She stared him straight in the eye and didn't move a muscle. He didn't have time for this. He pulled his knife out and stuck it into her left side. Her body fell heavily and he looked around the room. There was no sign of the baby. He noticed a tall bookshelf on one wall. It didn't look like it belonged in this room. He pushed it to the side and found a door facing him. It was just like in the movies.

He opened it to find a room full of cribs, a room full of cribs full of babies. He walked around the room and looked at the whiteboards above the cradles. Everyone had two names, every board except for one that is. He looked at the child in the crib and smiled. He'd found the baby he was looking for. As he reached out, he heard sirens. Sirens that grew louder and louder until they stopped…right outside the daycare.

* * *

Booth threw his SUV into park amongst the massive sea of vehicles. S.W.A.T. busses, other SUVs and various patrol cars blockaded the street, lights still flashing. Crying parents stood around hugging each other as their children were ushered out to them by agents. Booth's heart twisted at the scene. Two ambulances pulled out as he walked up to Cullen.

"Sir." His voice carried emotions and questions as his boss finished talking to Agent Lacey.

"She's not here." Booth's face and heart fell, but his boss wasn't done talking. "She was, but he got here first. He strangled the receptionist and stabbed the daycare owner. The receptionist will be fine after a few hours on oxygen. The owner will probably need surgery, but she has a good chance too. The knife missed her heart by a quarter of an inch." Booth's face was pale and angry and Cullen made him sit down.

"She was there, Booth. The owner had all the kids in a back room, and the babies were in an adjoining room. The door was hidden by bookshelves and they were waiting for us to get here. He was in there when he heard the sirens. He must have gone out a fire escape and stolen a car. We're assuming this is the one he came with, no plates and all." He put a hand on his agent's shoulder. "We've got a call out for the stolen car and the trail is fresh. We'll find her soon."

* * *

**OH! I can't wait till Mother's day weekend so I can see the most recent episodes of Bones! Hope you enjoyed. The story is coming to its end very soon, I promise. I'll try to update sooner this time. God Bless! jed**


	11. Chapter 11

Booth walked in the front door of his house as the sun was disappearing over the horizon. Angela was in the living room, drawing on a sketch pad. She looked up when he entered.

"Brennan's sleeping. I told her you'd wake her up when you got home, but she really needs to rest."

He sat down in one of the arm chairs and rested his head against the back of it. Angela's gaze was studious as he closed his eyes.

"What happened, Booth?"

He sighed. "We were so close, Ange. Two minutes quicker and we would've gotten her back."

Angela began to worry. She set the sketchbook on the coffee table. "What happened?"

"She was dropped off at a daycare. The people there recognized her and called the hotline. They got there as fast as they could, but he got there faster. He took her right as the F.B.I. showed up to get her. So close, Ange. We know who he is now but we still don't have her. How am I supposed to tell Bones?"

"Wait. You know who he is? You know who has Abby?"

Booth pulled himself off of the chair and began to pace back and forth. "Nicholas Graves. I served with him a few years back. We were captured together. They beat him, but we were rescued before they got to me. When he got back the nightmares were terrible. His attitude had changed drastically and he didn't want any help. His wife left him and took his son with her. She wouldn't let him see his kid at all. A year later their son was killed in a car accident. I think he took Abby because he's still angry that I wasn't tortured but he was; he needs someone to blame for his son's death. I'm a piece of his whole problem."

Angela sat in silence. "Do you know where they are now?"

Booth stood in front of the window. "No. They're looking, but…Ange, we have to find her. I can feel Bones pulling away from me. If we lose Abby…" he turned his face towards her. "I can't lose my daughter and my wife. I can't do this without her."

Angela saw the desperate expression on his face. She knew her best friend was beginning to distance herself, as she had a tendency to do. She stood up and walked over to Booth, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Booth, go to her; stay with her. Even if she acts like she doesn't want you around, stay. She needs you, right now more than ever. Show her that no matter what happens you'll still be there for her." She pulled away and walked towards the stairs.

"I'm going to bed. I'll check on Parker for you while I'm up there."

Booth nodded and turned back toward the window. After a minute or two he made his way to his bedroom. Brennan was lying in bed, the covers half pulled down as if she'd kicked them away. He walked over to his dresser and changed. He lay down as gently as he could and sighed in relief when she didn't stir. He was just about to fall asleep when she spoke.

"Where've you been, Booth?"

He looked over to see her facing him, her sad and tired eyes piercing through his.

"I've been looking for her, Temperance. I've been trying to find her."

"But you didn't." Her tone wasn't accusing, but rather resigned.

He brushed some hair from her face. "We were so close, Tempe. So close. But he got to her first." Her gaze fell away from his.

"It's all my fault, Tempe. He took her because of me. He took her for revenge." Her eyes snapped back to his and he told her what he'd told Angela. When he'd finished, she rolled onto her back. The movement was enough to make Booth panic.

"Please, Temperance, stay with me. I need you with me. I can't do this without you. I know you want to run away, to build your walls up again so it won't hurt as bad, but please…" He had to look away to keep himself from crying. He felt the mattress shift and pictured in his mind the sight of her walking out of the bedroom.

His whole body jerked in shock when he felt her hands on his face. He opened his eyes just as her lips met his. The tears he was trying to chase away fell down his cheeks as he closed his eyes again, enjoying what he thought was the last time she would kiss him.

Brennan pulled back. "I'm not going to leave, Booth. I thought about it, I planned for it; I tried. I couldn't stay away. I can't do this without you either Seeley. It hurts more when you're not here. I can't do this if you're not with me. I can't run away."

He looked up to see her still leaning over him, her eyes piercing into his soul. He pulled her to his chest, hugging her as if she would still try to leave even after she had just told him she wouldn't.

--

Graves had pushed the stolen car into the river and hid himself in a wooded area of a park. He didn't know where to go. Everything had been planned out perfectly, until Rita messed it all up. He knew that everyone knew his identity now, and surely Booth had figured out why he took Abby. Now he just needed a new plan.

The baby cried from where she was lying on the ground and he stuck a pacifier in her mouth. He was running out of options. Every person in the capital district would have seen his picture and would be on the lookout for him. If the cops patrolled the park there was a chance they'd find him. Any minute now someone would find the car he'd dumped.

With a sigh Graves knew the only option would be to either kill the baby or get caught. The angry man in him wanted to kill the baby. The grieving father in him couldn't do that. Getting caught would mean death now. Kidnapping, murder; his life was over. The question was, would he end Booth's as well?


	12. Chapter 12

Booth groaned as a noise repeatedly pulled at his mind, disturbing the first restful sleep he'd had in a while. With a jerk he realized the noise was his cell phone going off. His arm reached out to grab it from the nightstand.

"Booth."

"It's Cullen. Metro found the stolen car in the Potomac. There's nothing on it, and we've got no idea where Graves is now. I just thought you'd like to know we found it."

"Thanks." He threw the phone back onto the table and rubbed his face with a groan. He felt something heavy and warm on his right side and looked over. Brennan's head was resting on his chest, her auburn hair spread out across him. Her arm was draped across his stomach in a sort of half hug. He ran his hand over her head, thanking God she was still with him.

She stirred at his touch. After blinking a few times, she looked up to find Booth's chocolate eyes trained on her. She rubbed her face on his chest with a moan.

"Was that Cullen?"

"Yeah. They found the car Graves stole, but they still have no idea where he is."

Temperance dropped her head back onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"We'll find her Temperance. I promise."

"I know. I know. I love you, Seeley."

"I love you, Temperance. More than you can know."

They lay there in silence, holding each other and finding comfort in their love. Some time later they heard footsteps approaching the door. They both looked up to find Parker standing in the doorway. The boy's eyes were wide and wet and he had a scared expression painted on his face.

"Come here, bub." At his father's words, Parker ran over to the bed and climbed onto it. Once Brennan had rolled onto her back the boy lay between them, hugging an arm from both of them.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Brennan brushed some hair from his eyes with her free hand and found his forehead was a little damp.

"Mmmhmm." He snuggled closer to them and Booth looked into his wife's eyes. He ran a finger over his son's cheek.

"We're going to find Abby, son. Do you believe me?" Parker looked at him, and Booth felt relief flood him when he nodded.

"Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

"M&M pancakes!" Every hint of sadness was erased as the boy sat up and began jumping around on the bed.

"Are you sure? You don't want raisins instead?" Brennan saw a sparkle in her husband's eye as he said that, his words having their desired effect when Parker put his hands on his hips and tried his best to glare at his father.

"Dad! No raisins! M'n'M's!" Booth smiled and tickled the little boy's sides. Parker's shrieks and laughter filled the room, causing his parents to smile. Both adults found themselves thinking of their missing daughter, but both suppressed the feelings, choosing to enjoy the rare moment of joviality.

"Come on, bub. Let's go make those pancakes." Booth wrapped his son in his arms and pulled the two of them out of bed. Parker looked over his father's shoulder.

"You coming Mom?"

Booth stopped and turned slightly. "Yeah Mom, are you coming?"

Brennan looked at both of them and sighed with a smile and climbed out of bed.

"Now, let's see. Are the M&M's in the blue jar? Or was that the raisins?"

"Mom!"

Laughter followed them through the hall.

Dale Thomson was jogging through the park, his breath leaving puffs of smoky mist behind him. The sun was yet to come up and the five a.m. air was chilly. He was usually running at a faster pace at this point, but he'd pulled a muscle at work yesterday and was still feeling the pain.

He heard a sound that caught his attention, one that didn't fit in with the usual morning atmosphere. He slowed down to a walk and doubled back. Coming up to the place where he'd heard it he stopped, listening for it again. There it was. He cautiously, silently approached the trees from whence the sound came. His instincts were telling him to get away, to not check it out by himself. But when he heard the sound again, he knew he had to move forward.

As he pushed some willow branches out of the way, he saw a baby lying on the ground. He got nearer and recognized the little girl from the news. This was the Booth girl. He was just about to reach out and grab her when he heard something move behind him. He spun around and saw a man facing him with a knife in his hand. He knew from the news that this was Nicholas Graves, the man responsible for kidnapping Agent Booth's daughter.

"What are you doing?" The man with the knife asked him.

"Nicholas Graves?"

"How do you know my name?"

"You're the most wanted man in the Capital District right now. Everyone knows your name." He took a few steps back and took on a defensive stance.

"Right." He relaxed slightly, but was back in his attack mode before Dale had a chance to do anything.

"Still, not gonna let you go. My life may be over, but I'm not giving up yet." He lunged at Dale, swiping his arm as the man jumped back. They circled around each other, Graves swinging his arm in arcs as he tried to make contact with his opponent. The other guy was unarmed, but he was doing his best to stay in the fight.

Dale kicked at Graves' arm, bumping it slightly but not enough to disarm him. They continued their dance around each other, Graves swinging his arm and Dale dodging it. Finally, with a jerky movement, Graves feinted right but brought his arm in left, the blade slicing into Dale's skin. The man grabbed at his arm, stumbling backwards a bit. Before he could regain his balance, Graves lunged forward, plunging the knife into Dale's side. As he was falling, he saw his attacker bringing his arm down again.

Dale let his mind go black as he felt more pain attack his body.

* * *

**I'm trying to finish this in the next few days. I'll be on an island all summer and won't be able to have computer access but _maybe_ once a week. So, if it's alright with you, I might have this finished by June 11. If not, I'll try to get it up somehow! Hope you enjoyed Jed.  
**


	13. Chapter 13

Graves dropped the knife next to the black man's body and tried to catch his breath. He got carried away again. The baby cried out and he wiped the spit and sweat from his mouth. They needed to move and he didn't have a clue as to where they would go. He picked her up and made his way out of the trees. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, so there was a good chance he wouldn't come across too many people.

Moving through the city, he looked for a place where he could hide; or where he could at least get everything over with. Coming across an abandoned construction site, he knew it was the best place he would find. He ducked beneath the yellow caution tape and made his way into the structure.

"Herman, no!" Molly Richards pulled at the leash as her German Shepherd tried to pull away. "Get over here!"

Normally her dog was well-tempered and obedient. Right now he was doing everything he could to get away from her. Molly pulled some more at the leash and yelled again. Herman started barking, and she realized she wasn't going to win this fight. She loosened her pull on the leash and began to follow her dog.

"Herman, I swear, if this just some rabbit or squirrel and you've dragged me all the way-" she stopped short when she saw what was hiding just behind the tree. Herman sat in front of her, twisting around to look at her as if asking "what now?"

Molly couldn't pull her eyes off the body in front of her. There was blood, everywhere. She felt her stomach churn and stumbled to the side, emptying its contents onto the grass. As she sat there, wiping her mouth with a shaking hand, Herman got up and leaned over the body, nudging at the head with his nose.

"Herman, no!" She got up to grab at his collar. Just as she did, a bloody hand rested on hers. She screamed and jumped back, shaking.

"Help, me!" The man's voice was raspy as he forced out the words. Molly gasped and fumbled to get her cell phone from her pocket. With shaking fingers she punched the numbers for help.

Simon Lacey stood by the coffee maker, pouring in his two creams and sugar when Cullen found him.

"Lacey, we got a call from Metro PD. They've got Graves surrounded in an abandoned construction site downtown. He's armed and they're waiting for you."

Graves made picked his way through the cement structure carefully, feeling with his feet for debris before stepping. The sun had yet to penetrate this concrete fortress, making it difficult for him to maneuver his way around the building. He cursed as he tripped over a pile of metal pipes. Praying that nobody heard it, he moved on, finally finding a good place to settle down.

Pretty soon, someone would find him, and then it would be all over. He no longer knew how he felt about that.

The two agents climbed into the SUV and buckled up as Simon turned on the lights and siren. The rest of the team followed them.

"How'd they find him?" Greene asked as she put on her seatbelt.

"The abandoned building's next to an apartment complex. Apparently one of the elderly tenants is one of those self-made spy types; notices anything and everything that's not her business. She heard loud ruckus coming from the building and called it in about 45 minutes ago.

"Two uni's went in to check it out and one of 'em got clobbered with a metal pipe, losing his gun. The partner held off the now armed Graves as the first guy called it in. Dispatch sent a call off to us."

They pulled up to the building and made their way through the sea of squad cars.

"So we've finally got him, huh?"

"Guess so." He introduced them to the officer in charge.

"He's all yours. Our guys managed to get out of there with only minor injuries. Graves is armed and dangerous, but you guys know what you're dealing with."

Lacey and Greene put on some bulletproof vests and checked their weapons. They made their way through the officers surrounding the building and began their ascent into the building. The officer in charge had told them he was on the fourth floor, so they climbed the stairs until that point. The room was more like a floor-and that was all. The whole building was open to the air, and after searching the space they found that Graves had moved.

Floor by floor they searched, each one having no sign of Graves. As they came to the last floor- the roof, they began to wonder if he hadn't eluded them again. They came to the last of the stairs and began searching the roof for Graves. They found him holding onto a vertical beam, looking down on the road. Both guns trained on him.

"Nicholas Graves, you're under arrest for kidnapping the child of a federal agent, for the murder of Rita Toms and three counts of attempted murder, including an officer of the law."

"I never did that last one." He never turned around.

"The man in the park, the one you attacked with a knife-he's an officer in the Metro PD. He lived by the way."

"I'm not going to do or say anything until Seeley Booth is standing here."

The two agents looked at each other. Lacey nodded to Greene, who spoke into the radio, relaying to Cullen the demand.

"Where's the girl?" Simon readjusted his grip on his gun, never aiming it away from Grave's chest.

Graves let out a low, evil laugh. "Like I'm going to tell you. As I said before, I'm not doing or saying anything until Booth stands before me."

Booth was cleaning up the breakfast dishes when the doorbell rang. Brennan was taking a bath, so he dried his hands on a towel and answered it.

"Hodgins? What are you doing here?"

The man leaned forward slightly and spoke in a low voice.

"Cullen called; they've got Graves cornered in an abandoned building downtown. He's demanding your presence. Cullen sent me to get you there right away."

Booth was already pulling on his shoes. "Why did he send you?"

"He said he thought maybe it wouldn't alarm Dr. Brennan if I showed up instead of one of your guys. Now come on, we've got to go."

"Agent Greene, Agent Booth's on his way up."

She looked up at her partner and began walking backwards, towards the stairs, keeping her gun trained on Graves. A few minutes later Booth came to the top of the stairs, a Kevlar vest over his t-shirt.

"Make sure he's unarmed." Greene looked over at Graves, then at Booth.

"I've got nothing on me." They looked at Graves, who nodded his head. Booth and Greene slowly walked over to Lacey and Graves.

"I'm here Nick. Why'd you want to see me?"

"Special Agent Seeley Booth. I never thought I'd see you again. I never wanted to. But I couldn't help it. You and your work with the Jeffersonian; always in the news. And then, oh! The announcements of your wedding to the great Dr. Temperance Brennan. And it got even better; a daughter! At least this time you became a father in wedlock."

Booth bristled but knew better than to take Graves' bait.

"I couldn't get rid of you! You were everywhere. Your life was great, and only got better!" He was screaming now. "You never suffered!"

"I did! Not when we were captured together, but later. I went through what you did, Nick. I'm not without my own demons."

"Don't try to make us equal. You sat there in that cell while they beat me over and over and over again. They threw me in there, half dead, but before they could drag you into their torture chamber, in comes the cavalry, rescuing us before they could touch your pretty features. And what do you do? You thank them for getting you out of there!"

"Yeah, I was thanking them. Anybody would."

"Your exact words were, if I remember correctly, 'I'm glad you got here when you did.' Screams 'thanks for saving my hide' to me!"

"That's wrong. I didn't say that for myself. Not completely anyway."

"Don't lie!"

"I'm not! I wasn't sure they were done with you! Day after day they kept taking you out in the morning and bringing you back at night, looking closer to death than you had sixteen hours before. I didn't think they'd finished with you and everything I tried to get them to take me instead failed."

Graves turned his head slightly toward Booth. "Why would you try to do that?"

"Goodness knows any sane man would do anything to not be tortured. But every time they brought you back I realized they weren't going to leave you alone. I did everything I could to make them take me instead. We went through hell together, Nick. I wasn't going to sit there and let them kill you. But there was nothing I could do! Every day they came in, ignored my pleading, my begging, and took you. I tried, Nick! I tried!"

Lacey spoke up. "What does this have to do with Abby?" Graves looked back at them, before looking down at the street again.

"You needed to know what it was like, to lose a child. You didn't know what it was like to be tortured and you didn't know what it was like to lose your kid! Agh! I was just going to take Parker, but then I saw how happy you were with _Temperance_, and your sweet little baby girl- and I knew, that if I was going to really hit you, to hit you deep, that she was the way. Losing Parker would hurt, but losing Abby would take both your daughter and your wife. So I followed Dr. Brennan, running her car off the road and took Abby."

"Where is she now?"

"Patience! If this is my last stand I'm getting all the time for it I want! I took the girl and led you on that little rabbit chase, with every intention of killing her and leaving her somewhere for your precious team to find. But I couldn't do it! I couldn't kill that stupid baby! I figured I'd just keep her for a while, make you think she was dead, something. But then Rita got in the way, and I had to get rid of her. I couldn't let you just get the baby back, so I had to get her from that daycare. And that cop- he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I wasn't going to let him take the baby and get credit for the rescue. I had to hurt you as much as I could, Seeley, even if that didn't include killing her!"

"Why? Why did you want to hurt me so badly? Why did you want to kill my daughter? It can't be just because I wasn't tortured with you. Why? Why risk everything?"

"Because I lost my son!" Sobs broke up his speech now. "He was killed in an accident. I lost the dearest, most precious thing in my life, and I needed- I needed someone to go through the pain I felt! And the stupid- my nightmares and his death drove my wife away. So now I'm all alone and dying."

"Dying?"

"My spine was never the same after I got home, and it's just gotten worse. They shot me, remember? The bullet's moved to my spine, in my neck. One wrong move and-I've got nothing else to live for. I just wanted _someone_ to feel my pain!"

"I'm sorry, Nick, I really am. But I never knew you to be a man that would kill another man's child, especially not a baby who hasn't even had her first birthday. I wish something could've been done about your son. But you have a choice here, Nick. You can kill an innocent, little girl and go to the grave with that on your conscience, or you can give her back to her family and die knowing you did good."

"I took her in the first place! I killed all those people to keep her!"

"Give her back and I'll leave it alone! All we care about is getting our daughter back! You'll have to deal with the consequences of everything else you did, but I won't add the guilt of kidnapping to you. Just, please, tell me where my daughter is." Booth choked down his tears.

Graves had the tears of a broken man streaming down his face. "You don't understand. It's not that easy."

* * *

**There's two more chapters and I've got two more days at home, so for your entertainment you have a chapter a day today, tomorrow and the day after. Sorry I had to put it out there so quickly, but it was either that or I get it up at some point in the future...I'm sure you'll like it better this way. Jed  
**


	14. Chapter 14

Booth's heart stopped before plunging to his stomach, the same happening to the other agents behind him. His lungs began working double time to compensate for the fear now pulsing through his veins.

"What-what do you mean? Where is she?"

Graves was now quaking and Booth was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold on to the beam and would fall before telling them where Abby was.

"I was hoping they'd drive off and take her away, out of my hands. I put her in a car, down on the street, before coming up here. I don't remember which one."

Booth took off, flying down the stairs at a breakneck speed. He ran back to Cullen, chest heaving for air.

"He put her in a car, here on the street but he doesn't know which one."

Cullen turned to the people around him. "Everyone, start searching the cars along both ends of this street. Graves put the girl in one of them."

People began moving along the street, looking in every car for a sign of the baby. Booth sat on the bumper of an SUV, trying to calm himself down. After twenty minutes of searching, he heard something he desperately didn't want to hear.

"There's no sign of her, sir. We've searched every car on this block. Chances are it was driven away."

Booth choked back some tears. "Who would drive away with a strange baby in their car?"

"Maybe they didn't notice she was in there. We'll put an updated amber alert out, Booth."

They heard a shout and looked up just in time to see Graves' body fall from the roof. Booth looked away. A couple uniforms went over to check it out.

"He's dead."

Booth rested his head against the back of the car and felt hope slipping away from him. He tried to figure out what to tell Temperance. _We were so close. Again._

"Excuse me." A woman's voice made every head in the vicinity turn.

"I saw you looking in all the cars and I tried to stop you, but you walked away before I could. I found this in my car." She held out a yellow bundle. Booth was on his feet before he even realized it. He peeled aside the blanket and let a sob loose when he looked into the shining blue eyes of his baby girl.

"Abigail." He took her from the woman's arms.

"I found her in my backseat when I left for work. I took her inside to call the cops, but then I saw you all searching the cars. Is this the girl that's been on the news?"

Booth nodded. He cradled his daughter to his chest, pressing a kiss to her soft hair. Everyone was looking at him as he walked back to the vehicles and as soon as they saw the baby in his arms they broke out into a loud roar of cheers and applause.

Cullen walked up to Booth as Lacey and Greene joined them. "Congratulations Booth. Now get Dr. Hodgins to drive you home." The doctor in question came up beside Booth.

"Come on, let's go surprise Dr. B."

The whole way home Booth held his daughter as close to him as possible, not caring about the tears that streamed down his face. So many times in the past few days he'd had to stop himself from considering the fact that he might never see her again. Now he held her in his arms once more and thought his heart would burst with joy.

Hodgins himself had to blink back tears as he drove back to Booth's house. Soon enough he was pulling his car into the driveway.

"Hodgins, could you go in first, make sure Brennan's sitting down?"

"Sure, man."

He went up to the front door and took a deep breath before opening the door. He found Angela and Brennan in the living room, playing a board game with Parker. Angela looked up when he entered and he smiled.

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth's outside. He's got something for you." He disappeared from the room as the women looked at each other.

He stuck his head out of the door and nodded to Booth before going back into the living room. He sat next to Angela and put an arm around her shoulders as Booth walked in, proudly carrying his yellow-wrapped bundle.

Brennan looked at the blanket in his arms, then at his face. She gasped and threw her hands over her mouth. Booth walked over to her and placed Abby in her arms. Temperance was crying hard now, pressing kisses to her daughter's face. Booth wrapped his arms around them and rocked them gently.

Angela gasped when Tempe did and looked over at Hodgins, who simply nodded and kissed her forehead. She too began to cry softly as she saw the reunion taking place in front of her. Parker went over to her, climbing on her lap and hugging her. His eyes were glued to his parents and sister, wanting to go over to them; but children are ever so insightful and the little boy realized he'd have his turn later.

After maybe five minutes, Booth and Tempe stopped crying and looked over at Parker.

"Come here, bub." At his father's invitation Parker scrambled down from Angela's lap and climbed onto his father's. He hugged him before wrapping his small arms around Tempe and Abby. Looking down at his sister, he kissed her cheeks.

"Hi Abby. I missed you." He curled up in his father's arms again, holding onto Abby's hand.

Hodgins nudged Angela and signaled to her that they should leave. They could come back later. Angela got up and crouched down in front of Brennan.

"Sweetie, we're going to leave. We'll come back later, when you're ready." Brennan nodded, and Angela placed one kiss to the baby's hair and another to Parker's.

The couple turned to leave but turned when Booth spoke. "Hodgins. Thank you."

The scruffy man smiled. "No problem. We'll see you later."

Later that night the family was asleep on the couch. Only Booth was still awake, watching the news with the volume turned down. All over the stations the news of Abby's return was being aired. Much of the coverage was about Graves, and Lacey, Greene and Cullen took care of everything well.

He felt Brennan stir beside him. She placed a kiss to his cheek.

"You never told me what happened to Graves."

Booth sighed. "After I ran down to start the search of the cars, he jumped. He was killed on impact."

Brennan mirrored his sigh. "As much as he hurt us, I feel a little sorry for him."

"Me too. I'd never drive myself to kidnapping someone else's child, but I'd feel the same way if I was in his place. Come on, let's get to bed."

He stood and picked up Parker as Brennan picked up Abby. Parker stirred and looked up at his father with sleepy eyes.

"Can I stay with you tonight, Dad?" Booth looked at Brennan, who simply smiled.

"Sure bub. Come on, we'll sleep as a family tonight."

They walked into the bedroom and situated Parker and Abby in the middle of the bed. Booth and Tempe got in, and soon the four of them were asleep in each other's arms, the nightmares of the last four days forgotten.

* * *

**Sorry I forgot to put it up sooner. It's been a hot and busy day, trying to get things ready for the summer. I WILL have the last chapter up tomorrow. (P.S. There was no way I could kill Abby. I'm horrible at killing characters off and leaving them that way ;)  
**


	15. Chapter 15

_Five Months Later…_

"Happy Birthday dear Abby, happy birthday to you!" Everyone cheered as they finished singing. The little girl sitting in the high chair squealed with delight as she clapped her hands together. Booth snapped another picture.

Angela, Hodgins, Zach, Dr. Goodman and Cam were gathered at the Booth house, together with Booth's family, to celebrate Abby's first birthday.

The little girl was her high chair, a celebratory "I'm 1" bib around her neck, and was currently smashing chocolate cake with her little hands. Booth and Angela were both snapping as many pictures as they could, determined to capture every single bit of Abby's first birthday.

Cullen and Agents Greene and Lacey had sent greetings and presents, not wanting to intrude on a family moment. Booth and Brennan deeply appreciated the gestures, owing so much to them.

Abby giggled as she smashed cake into her mouth, most of it ending up on her face. Temperance wiped some of it away and caught Booth's eye. He winked and she smiled. Booth stood up.

"Everybody, we want to thank you for being here to help us celebrate Abby's first birthday. Not too long ago we all thought this day might never come. But here it is, and our family is thankful to have our friends with us to enjoy it. You've been here for us during good times and nightmares, and we're ever so grateful. So thank you for being here, and enjoy your cake and ice cream."

"Dah!" Abby's high pitched voice broke out as her father finished speaking, and everyone laughed.

Booth walked over to his daughter and wiped some cake off her cheek with a finger. He stuck it in his mouth.

"Mmm. You taste good, baby." He looked up at his wife. "We've got a very _sweet_ girl here, Tempe." She smacked his shoulder and he stood up to kiss her.

The party broke up around nine and Abby was asleep ten minutes later. Booth and Tempe worked together to bathe the sleeping girl, who didn't wake up even while half-submerged in water. They dressed her and put her in her crib, looking down on her as she slept. It had only been five months since the nightmare with Graves, but they tried to forget about that the best they could.

Now they stood in each other's arms, looking down on their daughter who was sleeping safe and sound.

"I love you Seeley."

"I love you too. Come on; let's go get Parker in bed."

Once Parker was tucked in, Brennan went to get ready for bed while Booth locked up the house for the night. The front door was locked and food put away. He went to turn the last light in the living room off, and paused when he saw the picture frame next to the lamp on the end table.

It had been a gift to the whole family for Abby's birthday. Angela had taken a picture of them at Abby's welcome home party. She put it in a wooden frame she'd designed and gave it to them. They were all smiling and looking at Abby, who sat on her father's lap. In big letters at the top of the frame was 'LOVE' and at the bottom it read 'NEVER FAILS'. Booth set the frame down and turned off the light, making his way to the bedroom where he would sleep with his children safely tucked in bed and his wife wrapped in his arms.

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**Here we are! Months of hard work finally at a finish. Sorry this chapter so short- I didn't know how else to do it. You guys have been great, faithful with reviews and all. Thank you so much for reading this and I hope you enjoyed! Jed.**

Philippians 2:5-11


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